Suzanne Robinson by Just Before Midnight

shallow though it may be, then you’ll have to learn to put up with a few inconveniences.” Cheyne moved around the piano. “Come here, Miss Bright. I want to give you a lesson in etiquette. It will help you remember not to make a gentleman look like a fool in front of the best families in England.”
    “Can’t be the best, if you’re one of ’em.” Miss Bright circled around the piano and darted behind a harp that stood near the doors.
    Cheyne leaped across the room to place himself between the harp and escape. “Never have I met a more tiresome, ill-mannered person. You seem to have been educated on the Continent, but it didn’t do any good. So I’m going to teach you that running over people with motorcars and playing tricks at balls have no place among refined persons.”
    “You’re the one who started this, blaming me for things that are your fault and bellowing insults at me at the portrait viewing,” said Miss Bright. “You gotno call to get uppity and accuse me of being uncivil when you’re worse than a grizzly at Delmonico’s.”
    “Will you please speak English? I understood only half of what you said.”
    “You mean you want me to sound like I’ve been soaked in vinegar and stuck on the shelf.”
    Cheyne moved closer to Miss Bright, but she tossed her remaining shoe at him and sprinted for the door as he dodged it. He spun around and lunged, catching her around the waist and quickly pulling her against him. Spitting colorful insults at him, Miss Bright pounded at his arm until he managed to wrap her in a hold that brought them face-to-face. And then Cheyne realized his mistake in not holding her at arm’s length.
    They were pressed against each other like tinned sausages, and he could feel her breasts heave against his chest. Every movement, every squirm and writhe brought Miss Bright’s curves in contact with his body. The righteousness of his purpose disappeared from his thoughts. Arousal burned away his vexation.
    Miss Bright tried to pry herself free by shoving his chest with her trapped arms. This forced her bosom back and her hips forward so that Cheyne glimpsed temptation while his most intimate body parts received stimulation to the point of pain.
    “Stop that!” Cheyne squeezed her so that she couldn’t move.
    “I can’t breathe, dang it.”
    He loosened his grip, and Miss Bright took adeep breath. Through a haze of desire Cheyne watched her fill her lungs. She was still close to him, close enough to make those deep breaths torture. Blood pounded in his ears, and his heart raced. It raced to other parts of him as well, making him want to howl with the tension of it. He noticed the way she bit her lower lip as she struggled to regain her equilibrium. His gaze narrowed so that those lips filled his vision. The pounding in his ears, the beating of his heart, the discomfort of arousal all grew until he thought he would explode. Unable to endure the agony, Cheyne suddenly let go of his prisoner.
    The abruptness of her release caused Miss Bright to lose her balance. She dropped to the floor on her bottom.
    “Hey!”
    Cheyne retreated to the windows, grabbed a handful of velvet curtain in his fist and pressed his forehead against the glass. “Go away.”
    Behind him he heard Miss Bright get to her feet and pick up her shoes. “What in blazes do you think you’re doing, tossing me around like a sack of sweet potatoes?”
    “I said go away.” Cheyne gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, trying to will away the urge to throw her on the floor.
    “Now, listen here, Mr. Tennant, if you think you can handle me like that and then just—”
    Cheyne’s fist jerked in the curtains, making therod jangle and startling Miss Bright. “Bloody hell! Get out.”
    Miss Bright narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. Cheyne’s gaze dropped to her arms, and he winced again.
    “What’s wrong with you?”
    A pained laugh burst from him, and Cheyne gave her a twisted smile that cost